A POLYCOM CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY
Industry
• Education
• Healthcare
• Corrections
Daily Use
• Telemedicine
• Distance Learning
Solution
• Extensive Polycom® UC Intelligent
Core™ infrastructure powers
TTUHSC’s telemedicine and
distance education programs, which
deliver healthcare services and
education to rural areas throughout
West Texas
Telemedicine Benefits
• Telepresence network brings
primary and specialty healthcare to
community health centers, schools
and corrections facilities
• Community-based consults reach
450 patients a month
• Collaboration with HHSC delivers
pediatric sub-specialty care to
children in underserved areas
• Delivered 3,600 corrections
consults in 2009, saving money and
preserving public safety
Distance Learning Benefits
• TTUHSC can offer more classes to
students at smaller campuses
• School saves money and resources
by offering courses via telepresence
• TTUHSC provided 12,500 hours of
classes and video conferences in
2009-2010
Texas Tech Health Sciences Center
Reaches the Far Corners of West
Texas with Telemedicine and Distance
Learning Powered by Polycom
Overview
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC), a pioneer of distance learning
and telemedicine, operates a comprehensive Polycom telepresence and video conferencing
infrastructure that serves 108 counties in West Texas. TTUHSC’s telemedicine program brings
specialist care to community health centers, schools and other facilities in some of the most
remote West Texas towns—care that would only be available in clinics and hospitals located
several hours away. The telemedicine program also provides care to inmates in more than a
dozen Texas correctional facilities, preserving public safety and efficiently meeting healthcare
requirements. Meanwhile, TTUHSC’s distance learning program dramatically expands educational
opportunities available at the school’s seven campuses.
Together, the two programs support TTUHSC’s mission to improve the health of people in
the communities it serves, no matter how small or rural, through education and care all while
delivering cost savings and resource efficiencies at every level.
Bringing Healthcare to Rural Community Health Centers and Schools
In rural areas throughout the United States, access to healthcare is increasingly threatened, as
more providers consolidate in large cities or regional medical centers. But few places feel the
pinch more than the small towns of West Texas, an area that claims half the Lone Star State’s
land mass but just 12 percent of its people. Twelve counties lack even a single physician,
registered nurse or nurse practitioner, let alone a clinic or emergency room. In some towns, the
only healthcare professional is the school nurse.
TTUHSC launched its telemedicine program in 1989 to provide care to underserved areas.
Using Polycom® HDX® telepresence systems, the program now serves 23 community-based
sites and 15 Texas Department of Corrections facilities. Thirty specialists remotely see 450
patients a month in small Texas towns, such as Alpine and Hart, where healthcare professionals
in community health centers and even nurses in local schools rely on video consults with the
specialists to help them care for patients of all ages. In addition, TTUHSC is collaborating with
the U.S. Health and Human Services Commission to provide pediatric psychology, dermatology,
urology, endocrinology, pulmonology and cardiology care.
“We do a lot of pediatric psychology consults, from diagnosing autism to treating ADHD,” says
Debbie Voyles, director of TTUHSC’s telemedicine program. “Rural communities won’t have a
psychiatrist, let alone a pediatric psychiatrist. But we bring that level of care directly to these kids,
often for the first time.”
“In telemedicine, you only want equipment that you can count on, and we can count on
Polycom. We have some units in correctional facilities that are five years old and are still
operating perfectly.”
Debbie Voyles, Director, TTUHSC Telemedicine Program
A POLYCOM CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
“Polycom Professional Services has been very helpful in identifying the right
resources for our needs, and in pinpointing ways to improve audio quality at all our
endpoints. And Polycom’s senior support personnel are excellent.”
Warren Dyer, Senior Director, TTUHSC Telecom Services
An Efficient Model for Delivering Care
Telemedicine consults take place with the help of
a community-based assistant trained by TTUHSC.
The Polycom systems are often connected to
examination cameras, otoscopes, stethoscopes
and other devices. “The on-site assistant will
take direction from the specialist,” says Voyles,
who administers the program with a staff of four.
“Whether the patient is in the school nurse’s office,
a community health center, or a storefront in a local
shopping center, it’s as if the doctor is right there.”
TTUHSC specialists also help treat conditions
such as obesity and diabetes. “Managing chronic
conditions is an ongoing challenge in small
communities,” says Voyles. “It requires regular
follow-up to be effective, and telemedicine makes
follow-up easier.” The network also eases training
for local personnel.
In correctional facilities, the approach is similar.
Treatment includes psychiatry, dermatology, urology,
and orthopedics. In 2009, TTUHSC delivered more
than 3,600 consults to inmates.
Leveraging Polycom UC Intelligent Core
The telemedicine program shares the same
Polycom® UC Intelligent Core™ solution that powers
TTUHSC’s extensive distance learning network.
TTUHSC relies on Polycom® HDX® 7000 and
9000 room telepresence systems to connect 50
classrooms, three auditoriums, five teaching studios,
and 29 conference rooms.
“It takes a lot of people and brick-and-mortar
facilities to support medicine, nursing, allied health
and other disciplines,” said Warren Dyer, senior
director of telecom services at TTUHSC. “But with
distance learning, we can support those courses
without incurring the costs of a full faculty and staff
at each campus.”
In the 2009-2010 academic year, Dyer’s staff of 38
supported over 12,500 hours of distance education
classes, video conferences, and telemedicine
consultations. Video network control rooms equipped
with Polycom® RMX® conference platforms ensure
telepresence calls go smoothly. IT staffers monitor
all video calls, and a Polycom® RSS™ 2000 solution
enables classes to be recorded, archived, and
streamed. TTUHSC also uses a Polycom® Video
Border Proxy™ appliance to enable public Internet
connections with community sites.
Tapping Polycom Services Expertise
Dyer says TTUHSC has tapped Polycom
Professional Services for assistance in network
design, deployment and troubleshooting. “Polycom
Professional Services has excellent personnel
who have been very helpful in identifying the right
resources for our needs, and in helping us improve
audio quality at all our endpoints. They’ve also been
a big help with deploying bridges and features like
content capture.”
Product Listing
Real-Time Communication
and Collaboration
• 100+ Polycom HDX®
room and personal
telepresence solutions
• Polycom® RMX®
conference management
platforms
• P
olycom® RSS™ recording
and streaming server
• Polycom® Video Border
Proxy™ (VBP®) converged
network appliance
Polycom Professional
Services
• Solution design and
consulting
• Network and infrastructure
troubleshooting to optimize
telepresence experience
• Polycom Premier support
But calls to Polycom tech support are relatively rare,
says Voyles, for one simple reason: “In telemedicine,
you only want equipment you can count on, and
we can count on Polycom. We have some units in
correctional facilities that are five years old and are
still operating perfectly.”
Learn More
To find out how Polycom solutions can help your
organization, visit us at www.polycom.com or
call 1.800.POLYCOM to speak with a Polycom
representative.
Polycom Worldwide Headquarters
4750 Willow Road, Pleasanton, CA 94588
1.800.POLYCOM or +1.925.924.6000
www.polycom.com
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